1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for driving lamps and a liquid crystal display having the same, and more particularly, to an apparatus for driving lamps and a liquid crystal display having the same, wherein the luminance of light can be maintained uniformly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) is a passive device that cannot emit light by itself, the LCD includes a backlight disposed below a liquid crystal display panel to provide light thereto. Generally, desired characteristics for backlights include high luminance, high efficiency, uniformity of luminance, long life, thinness, light weight, low costs, and the like. A lamp with small thickness and high efficiency is required for backlights employed in notebook computers or small-sized appliances, and a lamp with high luminance and high uniformity of luminance is required for larger LCDs such as for monitors or televisions (“TVs”).
Backlights are classified as either edge type backlights or direct type backlights depending on the position of a light source. Among the types of backlights, a direct type backlight has been developed coinciding with an increase in the size of a liquid crystal display. This direct type backlight has a plurality of lamps arranged in a line below a liquid crystal display panel to irradiate an entire surface of the liquid crystal display panel with light. In the case of the direct type backlight, it is possible to secure high luminance by using the plurality of lamps.
However, as the size of a liquid crystal display increases, the number of lamps used in a backlight also increases. This results in many problems including the problem of maintaining uniform luminance among a plurality of lamps.